The recommendation came out of a meeting last month between the town’s Coastal Access Improvement Committee and Narragansett Chief Sachem Anthony Dean Stanton and other tribal members.
Committee chair Cinna Zerquera-Martin said she hopes tonight’s discussion will lead to a formal proposal waiving parking and walk-on fees to enrolled members of the tribe for the committee to approve next month and send onto the town council.
Zerquera-Martin said adopting the change would be “consistent with where everyone is going.” Last month, the select board of the town of Truro on Cape Cod voted unanimously to waive fire and parking fees for members of American Indian tribes, according to The Provincetown Independent.
“Our hope is Narragansett will be an example for all other towns in Rhode Island to follow,” Zerquera-Martin said. “We have a very pro-shoreline access town council, so I’m optimistic this is doable.”
The Coastal Access Improvement Committee was created by the Narragansett Town Council to make recommendations to council members on how best to improve shoreline access.
Town Council president and committee liaison Jesse Pugh said he will likely put the proposal on the Narragansett council agenda if it gets the advisory group’s approval. Pugh said the town has gotten a reputation in recent years for policies unfriendly to beachgoers, but “this is totally different than the perception people have of what the town’s turned into.”
The oceanfront is a sacred place of worship for the Narragansett people, but the tribe does not presently own any shoreline land. Bella Noka, a tribal member who has spoken out about shoreline access issues, says she appreciates what the committee is doing but thinks people shouldn’t interpret any potential future changes to mean the town is giving access to the tribe.
“They are returning what was taken,” Noka said. “I appreciate that it’s even on the agenda, but I’m sad that we even had to ask for it.”
Noka said she has been interrupted by passersby while in sacred ceremony on the beach, and she said officials at the state level and in Rhode Island towns should consider transferring shoreline land to the tribe so members can worship without disturbances.
“They all should be speaking up and start doing right by the people,” she said.
Alex Nunes can be reached at anunes@thepublicsradio.org.
